Tryouts… what a tense and emotional time. On the one hand, you’ll have a lot
more free time and money in the bank if your child does not make the team; on
the other, you will barrel full-throttle and headfirst into a vortex of
despair, questioning your will to live and making a mental note to raise hell
with every tryout judge and coach that allowed this to happen to you and your
poor baby. Your child might be brand new to cheerleading, or they
could be the seasoned veteran–it doesn’t matter, nobody’s spot is guaranteed!
You’ve been waiting patiently, nail-biting the time away until the fateful day
finally rolled around. And, guess what? IT HAPPENED. Your child made the team!!
You just found out the news, and you immediately:1. Thank every God in every religion.

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Being rejected from a team sport weighs heavy on the mind of a child or
teenager, so you did NOT want to deal with your child thinking that they’re
inadequate in any way. Their problems are your problems, and if their
self-esteem plummets from being denied a spot on the team, it would just cause
you to feel like a complete failure as their parent, protector of all things
bad! Glad you didn’t have to cross that
bridge…2. Start considering what this means in terms of cost.

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Cheerleading is no cheap endeavor. Another season means another round of fees,
gear, specialty uniforms, clinics and more… and that goes quadruple for any new
cheer parent that might not know what it costs to complete an entire uniform
yet! Quickly calculating the cost in your mind, you realize that you must have
spent around $1,000 in bows in last year alone. Here we go again.3. Have a quick self-pity party thinking about what this means on your end.

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Cheering means that you’re constantly bussing your child around town from one
cheer event to another, and if your child doesn’t drive yet, you’re
going to be one of the (too few) designated team chauffeurs. Your free time
will be slim to none, and the only traveling you’ll do is when you head out on team getaways, in which
you’ll drag the rest of your family, in hopes that they will complain as little
as possible about it. Luckily, there are many competitions in cool places.
Disney World, anyone??4. Become nervous about the new team
dynamic.

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Every season, teams change. Kids move up in cheer skills, bumping them up team
levels and leaving their longtime teammates behind. New cheerleaders come into
the equation, that move your child from their last season spot. All the
familiar goes out the window, and you’re not the only cheer parent concerned:
there are plenty of cheer parents out there that are not shy about voicing
their opinions publicly. You hope not only for your child, but yourself, that
it’s a smooth transition all around with the kids, the parents, and even the
coaches!5. Heave a sigh of relief that at least
the worst is over.

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All those months of training paid off, and your child is officially on the
team. No more stress, and everyone can now just focus on going forward into the
new season. Well, until next spring… when this starts all over again.

How else do cheer parents feel once their child makes the team? Does this sound
familiar? Share your story in the comments!